Enhanced browsing with security scanning

ABSTRACT

A method scans a second web page linked to a first web page being displayed by a browser in a browser window. The method identifies, in the first web page, a target link to the second web page. Prior to receiving a user selection of the target link, the method prefetches content from the second web page and loads it into a safe cache according to a prefetching order before receiving the user selection of the target link and before the content of the second web page is opened by an application configured to provide access to the content of the second web page. The method scans the prefetched content from the second web page for a security threat, within the safe cache, which is configured to prevent the prefetched content from altering a memory location or storage location external to the safe cache.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/237,641, filed Sep. 20, 2011, which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/264,418, filed Nov. 1, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No.8,037,527, which (1) is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/985,700, filed Nov. 10, 2004, now abandoned, and(2) claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/625,891, filed Nov. 8, 2004. All of the foregoing patent applicationsare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to the field of computer systems. Moreparticularly, a method and apparatus are provided for improving thequality and efficiency of users' browsing experiences and reducing thedangers posed by malware that may be encountered while browsing.

Today's browsers provide users with substandard browsing, primarilybecause their focus is limited to a single web page at any given time.Specifically, a browser generally displays just a single page, which mayinclude hyperlinks to any number of other pages or sites. The browserdoes not allow the user to see what is on a linked page until he or sheredirects the browser to that page (e.g., by selecting a hyperlink).Only then can the user determine whether that page contains anything ofinterest to her. If not, she must retrace her action to return toanother possible branching point (e.g., by clicking a “back” button).

This pattern—of selecting a link to go to a new page, reviewing itscontent, and possibly selecting a link on that page—may continue anynumber of levels deep, all of which must be retraced to return to astarting point. When that starting point is a list of links to web sitesor pages (e.g., at a search engine site) or a list of links to goods orservices (e.g., at a retail or auction site), a user may have totraverse a number of chains of linked pages, and continually return tothe starting point, in the hope of finding content that more closelymatches her interest.

In addition, when the user selects a link to navigate to a correspondingpage, only then does the browser retrieve the content of that page.Depending on the bandwidth or type of communication link available tothe user, and the status of the starting point and target web site(e.g., how congested the web server is), there is often a noticeabletime lag before the target page is fully displayed. When the useraccesses numerous pages, as is typical during a search session with asearch engine or retail/auction site, the combined duration of the timelags can cause a significant amount of wasted time. A user wishing toquickly review several links or pages can become very frustrated withher browser's response time. And, if an error is encountered whiletrying to load a page, the user may have to try reloading it multipletimes before she is successful or before she gives up.

Further, users receive little assistance, if any, while navigatingmultiple chains of linked pages. For example, when a user browsesthrough multiple chains from a page of search results provided by asearch engine, she may come across pages that, while not fully matchingher interest, may bear further examination if better pages are notfound. Traditionally, she would have to remember how she reached thatpage (e.g., the sequence of links she selected to get there) or add abookmark to her browser. Remembering sequences of links becomes more andmore difficult as they (and her browsing session) get longer and longer.And, accumulating bookmarks that are of little or no interest makesbookmark management increasingly difficult.

Yet further, in a method of enhanced browsing as described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/985,700, content of linked pages may beretrieved before (e.g., prefetched) or when a link to that content (oran icon associated with the link) is moused-over or clicked on. Theretrieved content may be displayed within an enhanced browsing windowpositioned over the main browsing page. With such enhanced browsing itwould be helpful to indicate the status of the content retrieval toreveal, for example, whether retrieval has commenced or completed,whether retrieval is possible, whether a link is non-functioning, etc.

Also, the threat of (e.g., viruses, trojan horses, phishing attacks,worms, spyware, adware) and other electronic security threats continuesto grow, but existing browsers do little to identify or prevent suchthreats from affecting a user's computer. Instead, separate programs(e.g., anti-virus software) are generally used to attempt to detectthreatening content. However, these specialized programs typically scancontent only after a user navigates to a page containing that content.Thus, the content is already loaded into the user's browser windowbefore it is analyzed to determine if it contains anything that may beharmful or annoying. As a result, before it is scanned the content mayalready have a chance to generate a pop-up advertisement, replicate aworm, plant a cookie, modify the user's computer configuration, or haveother undesirable effect.

SUMMARY

A method and apparatus are provided for security scanning of electronicor digital content. Within a document (e.g., a web page, a wordprocessing document, a list of electronic mail messages), a link toother content or another document is selected by a computing device,before a user clicks on the link to open the content. The content isplaced into a safe cache that prevents the content from adverselyaffecting the user's computing device.

The content is scanned and/or its behavior is analyzed to detectsecurity threats and/or undesirable content (e.g., viruses, worms,scripts, adware, spyware, phishing attacks, buffer overflows,pornography). Results of the analysis may be collected at a centralserver. The link or an associated indicator may be configured toindicate whether a threat is present; more information may be providedas desired. A user may be provided with various options to ignore athreat, disable the link, etc.

Thus, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, prefetching of linksand linked content is combined with security scanning to detect threatsor undesired content before the content is loaded into an applicationand before a user even chooses to open the content. As a result, asecurity threat within linked content may be dealt with before thecontent is ever opened or loaded.

Look-ahead security scanning may be combined with a method of enhancedbrowsing to enable prefetching of linked content before a user requeststhe content. The content is scanned for threats and an enhanced browsingwindow may be constructed for the content to allow it to be quicklyrendered when the user requests the content.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an enhanced browsing apparatus, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts an enhanced browsing window, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart demonstrating a method of providing enhancedbrowsing, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart demonstrating a method of prefetching targetcontent, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a method of using an enhanced browsing column or stripe,in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a navigation tree for facilitating a user'snavigation of content that was browsed or searched, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an enhanced browsing window, in accordance with analternative embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 depicts illustrative icons for indicating the status of targetcontent or target content retrieval, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 9 depicts a computing environment in which look-ahead securityscanning may be performed in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart demonstrating a method of performing look-aheadsecurity, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context ofparticular applications of the invention and their requirements. Variousmodifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art and the general principles defined herein maybe applied to other embodiments and applications without departing fromthe scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accordedthe widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosedherein.

Introduction

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and apparatus areprovided for enhanced browsing of electronic data. A user browses ornavigates his browser to a first electronic page (e.g., web page,document, electronic mail message) that contains one or more links orreferences to other pages or other collections of content. When heselects (e.g., mouses-over or places a cursor over) a link to a secondpage or an indicator (e.g., an icon) associated with the link, anenhanced browsing window or frame containing content of the second pageis displayed on top of or in front of the browser.

In this embodiment, the enhanced browsing window contains actual contentfrom the second page, such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language), not justan image (e.g., a .gif or .jpg image) of the content. The content of thesecond page may be prefetched before the user chooses to preview it, inwhich case the enhanced browsing window can be displayed almostimmediately when the user selects or hovers a cursor over the link tothe second page. The contents of the window may change as the usermouses-over other links, or separate enhanced browsing windows may begenerated for each link.

For purposes of describing embodiments of the present disclosure, a“link” that identifies or is associated with data that may be retrievedor prefetched may take any form—graphical, textual or other. A link maytherefore include any object (e.g., an icon) or information thatembodies or is accompanied by a link (e.g., a hyperlink) or reference toother electronic data or content.

An apparatus for providing enhanced browsing may include various programmodules, which may be written in software using any appropriateprogramming language, or may be coded in firmware. An illustrativeapparatus includes a graphical user interface for presenting theenhanced browsing window and controls associated with enhanced browsing,a cache for caching content for display in the window, and a fetcher orprefetcher for fetching the content. The apparatus may also include oneor more interfaces to servers storing ads for display in an enhancedbrowsing window and data describing users' viewing activity. One suchinterface couples the enhanced browsing apparatus to a central serverfor facilitating enhanced browsing. The apparatus may be constructed asa plug-in to an existing browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox), aplug-in to another application (e.g., Microsoft Outlook) or as acomplete browser or other application.

The content of the second page displayed in an enhanced browsing windowmay be augmented with ads, particularly ads relevant to the content. Forexample, the content may be analyzed to determine a theme or nature ofthe second page or, if the link to the second page is part of a list ofsearch results, the ads may be selected based on search criteria thatyielded the search results. In one implementation of this embodiment thepresent disclosure, ads retrieved as part of the second page's contentmay be replaced with different ads. Details of this enhanced browsingembodiment of the present disclosure are provided in a followingsection. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, content of apage linked to a browsed web page (or other content) is prefetched,possibly for viewing in an enhanced browsing window. Various methods orheuristics may be applied to determine which linked pages or content tofetch or prefetch. Illustratively, when the user's browser displays apage of search results from a search engine (e.g., google.com,yahoo.com), prefetching is done automatically for some or all of thelinked pages or content (e.g., web pages or sites that may haveinformation relevant to the user's search criteria). Similarly, when thebrowser displays a list of links to goods or services offered for saleat a merchant or auction site (e.g., amazon.com, ebay.com), prefetchingof content may automatically begin with the linked items. Prefetchingmay be initiated as soon as the browser receives or displays the mainbrowser page. The prefetching may therefore coincide with the user'sreview of the page and/or a list of linked pages or links to othercontent. Thus, before the user even selects a link to content that hewould like to see, that content (and/or other content) may beprefetched. Icons or other indicators may be associated with links andconfigured to indicate the status of the prefetching of content throughthe links.

In implementations of this embodiment of the present disclosure, achoice of what to prefetch may be heuristically determined based on thefont size of a link, the link's location on the browser page, itsposition within a list of links, etc. Further details of this embodimentof the present disclosure for prefetching are provided in a followingsection.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, prefetched content (orcontent that is to be prefetched) may be scanned for viruses, spyware,adware, trojan horses, pornography and/or other undesired content orcode. Illustratively, the content may be placed in a safe cache forpurposes of scanning. If a threat or possible threat is detected, a usermay be alerted and provided with any number of options regarding how toproceed (e.g., delete the content, ignore the warning, prevent access tothe site or page, notify a central authority or other interested party).Details of this embodiment are described in a following section.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a mechanism isprovided for maintaining a user's ability to enjoy an enhanced browsingexperience while scrolling through a list of links (e.g., hyperlinks).In one implementation of this embodiment, a graphical stripe or columnoverlaps or is superimposed on the list. The stripe may be arranged as(or adjacent to) a border or edge of an enhanced browsing window. Thelist of links may extend multiple pages or screens, and the stripe isconfigured to extend as the list is scrolled into view. The user mayscroll through the list by sliding a user interface cursor along orwithin the stripe (e.g., up/down or left/right). While navigating withinthe stripe, content described by the links is previewed or displayed inan enhanced browsing window or a series of windows.

Also while navigating within the stripe, as the cursor nears theboundary of the main browser in a list that is too long to fully displaywithin the browser, the contents of the browser are scrolled. As thecursor crosses over or is aligned with a link, content from that link isdisplayed in an enhanced browsing window, or a separate window may beopened and closed for each link. Thus, in this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the user can very quickly scan the content of some or alllinks in a list. Further details of this browsing stripe embodiment ofthe present disclosure are provided in a following section.

In an alternative implementation of this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, a user operates a mouse wheel or provides other controlinput (e.g., an arrow key, page up or page down key), while an enhancedbrowsing window is open with a first page of content, to quicklyexchange the current window or contents of the window with content fromanother link in a series of links. Illustratively, the mouse wheel isoperated while a cursor is located proximate to (e.g., on top of,adjacent to) an icon or indicator associated with a link to the firstpage. When the scroll wheel is rotated, the cursor moves to the iconassociated with the next link, and the page containing the links mayalso scroll.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus displaysa graphical depiction of a user's navigation or viewing of content(e.g., web pages, documents, electronic mail messages). The depictionmay be rendered as a vertical or horizontal tree, wherein each nodecorresponds to one item (e.g., web page, image, document) or one set ofitems.

In one implementation of this embodiment, a tree root is created whenthe user initiates a new search (e.g., on a search engine site or at asite offering a good or service) and a page of search results isdisplayed in the user's browser. When the user navigates to a pagelinked to the current (e.g., search results) page, a new node in thetree is generated and connected to the previous node. As the usernavigates deeper by selecting additional links, more and more nodes areadded. To quickly move backward in his search, the user may click on anode and be taken back to the corresponding content. From there, he maychoose to navigate a different path. Similarly, the user may quicklymove to any other content represented in the tree by selecting theappropriate node.

The user may be able to mark a node by altering its appearance (e.g.,color, size, pattern); this may facilitate the user's return to aparticular page. Further details of this embodiment of the presentdisclosure are provided in a following section.

Enhanced Browsing

FIG. 1 depicts an apparatus for enhanced browsing of electronic data,according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In theillustrated implementation, the apparatus is configured as a plug-in oradd-on to a web browser such as Internet Explorer by MicrosoftCorporation, Firefox by the Mozilla Foundation, Netscape Communicator byNetscape Communications Corporation, etc. In other implementations, theapparatus may be provided as part of a distinct application or browser,or as a plug-in or add-on to a different type of application (e.g.,electronic mail, instant messaging, database).

The term “target link” may be used herein to refer to a link whosecontent is, or may be, selected for retrieval for display in an enhancedbrowsing window. Similarly, the term “target content” may be used torefer to content that is or should be retrieved for display, with orwithout prefetching.

Enhanced browsing apparatus 102 operates on virtually any type ofcomputing device (e.g., computer, personal digital assistant,web-enabled telephone) and comprises user interface 104, contentprefetcher or fetcher 106, cache(s) 108, ad server interface 110 andoptional central server interface 112. The apparatus is coupled to ahost browser in a manner similar to other plug-ins.

Enhanced browsing apparatus 102 is coupled to computer systems ornetworks containing web sites, web pages, documents, electronic mailmessages and/or other electronic data or content. The apparatus may becoupled to these entities by any types of communication links, which maybe shared (e.g., network) or dedicated, and wired or wireless. Inparticular, apparatus 102 may be coupled to a central server, which mayinclude or be coupled to a database or other collection of data forfacilitating enhanced browsing, as described below. Content accessedthrough enhanced browsing apparatus 102 may also, or instead, be storedon the same computing device as the apparatus.

User interface 104 is configured to build, display and manipulate anenhanced browsing window. The user interface may also provide any numberand type of controls to allow a user to navigate or manipulate contentwithin such a window, such as buttons, icons, a toolbar, etc., and mayalso accept keyboard input (e.g., key sequences using the CTRL or ALTkeys, up and down arrow keys, page up or page down keys).

The various controls may allow a user to initiate or terminate fetchingor prefetching of target content, open or close an enhanced browsingwindow, navigate his or her browser to retrieved content (e.g., bydirecting the browser to a page displayed in an enhanced browsingwindow), fetch content linked to content displayed in an enhancedbrowsing window, replace one enhanced browsing window with another,replace the content displayed in an enhanced browsing window with othercontent, etc.

In particular, user interface 104 may provide controls, menus or othermeans that allow the user to customize the enhanced browsing apparatusor change how it operates. User customization options may include: sizeor position of an enhanced browsing window, number of target links fromwhich to fetch content at a time (e.g., none, all, ten, twenty), how toidentify or prioritize target links, default action(s) to take inresponse to certain user activity (e.g., when the user clicks inside awindow or on a link within the displayed target content), how long todelay opening, closing or changing an enhanced browsing window, how orwhere to display an icon or indicator for opening an enhanced browsingwindow, etc.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, user interface 104 buildsan enhanced browsing window when target content is retrieved, but keepsthe window invisible until and unless the user actually indicates aninterest in (e.g., mouses-over) the associated target link or anindicator (e.g., icon) associated with the link. The window is then madevisible. Invisible windows may be stored in cache(s) 108.

Content fetcher 106 is responsible for fetching or prefetching contentfrom appropriate sources (e.g., web sites, databases, documentrepositories, electronic mail gateways) based on default criteria and/ora user's specified criteria. For example, content fetcher 106 maycommence prefetching target content immediately after the browser loadsor displays a page containing one or more target links, thereby takingadvantage of communication bandwidth that is idle while a user examinesthe page. Any number of links on the browser page may be treated astarget links. Content from a specific link may be fetched in response toa predetermined user input (e.g., an ALT-click or ALT-mouse-over of thelink or an associated status indicator).

In embodiments of the present disclosure described herein, contentfetcher 106 may fetch or prefetch target content when a user expressesan interest in a link by mousing-over or otherwise indicating aninterest in a target link or an indicator (e.g., icon) associated with atarget link. As described in following sections, an indicator associatedwith a target link may be configured (e.g., by user interface 104) toindicate a status of the fetching or prefetching (e.g., commenced, inprocess, completed, aborted, broken link) and/or a status of the content(e.g., previously viewed, contains a virus, contains spyware, containsobscene material).

Content fetcher 106 and/or some other component of enhanced browserapparatus 102 (e.g., a separate target identification module) may beconfigured to identify target links. As described in the followingsection, prefetch templates may be employed to identify target links insome web pages or other content. Briefly, a prefetch template isdesigned for a specific page (or set of pages) and indicates where onthe page a target link (or set of target links, such as a list of searchresults) may be found. Alternatively, any list of links or set of linksapparently arranged in a list format may be treated as target links.

However target links are chosen (e.g., by the user, according to adefault rule or template), they may be prioritized before thecorresponding target content is retrieved. Rules for prioritizing targetlinks are discussed below, and may be based upon the order of the linksin a list of search results, their position on the page on which theyappear, their font size or some other characteristic.

Depending on any priority assigned to a particular target link, theassociated content is retrieved by content fetcher 106. Upon retrievalof the target content, user interface 104 and/or some other component ofapparatus 102 constructs an enhanced browsing window for the content. Asdescribed in a following section, user interface 104 may be configuredto display controls or indicators (e.g., icons) for indicating thestatus of content fetching or prefetching.

It should be noted that prefetching and prefetch status indication arenot required for all embodiments of the present disclosure. Althoughprefetching content may speed up a user's browsing or previewing ofcontent, other benefits of the present disclosure may be enjoyed withoutrequiring content to be prefetched.

For example, it may be desirable to detect unwanted content (e.g.,spyware, viruses, pornography) regardless of whether the content isbeing prefetched or just fetched. Or, a user may find it helpful to bereminded that he or she has already viewed the content, saved the targetlink to a favorites list, decided or indicated whether the content is oris not helpful or enjoyable, etc.

Cache(s) 108 include one or more caches for storing target links, targetcontent, prefetch templates, enhanced browsing windows, a user history(e.g., a sequence of sites browsed or previewed) and/or other data. Inthe embodiment of the present disclosure depicted in FIG. 1, a cacheused by enhanced browsing apparatus 102 is separate and distinct fromany cache(s) maintained by the browser. Cache(s) 108 need not beincluded in all embodiments of the present disclosure, or its functionsmay be performed by some other component of apparatus 102.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, when targetcontent is displayed in an enhanced browsing window, it may beaccompanied by one or more advertisements. The retrieval of ads ismanaged by ad server interface 110. The ad server interface interactswith any number of ad sources (e.g., advertisers, media organizations)and/or central server 120. For example, when an advertisement is needed,ad server interface 110 may communicate with central server 120 todetermine which ad(s) to retrieve. The ad server interface may thencontact the appropriate source to obtain the ad or retrieve it from thecentral server. The same ads may be displayed in enhanced browsingwindows opened for different target links, particularly for all targetlinks appearing on one browser page.

Ads may be content-based, to match or reflect target content within anenhanced browsing window, or may be matched to a main browser pagecontaining the associated target link. For example, if target links onthe main browser page comprise a list of search results, the searchterms that yielded the search results may be used to select an ad. Thus,ad selection may be made by apparatus 102, central server 120, someother entity (e.g., an ad source), or any combination of thesecomponents. Ad server interface 110 may be optional in other embodimentsof the present disclosure, or its functions may be performed by anothercomponent of apparatus 102.

Central server 120 maintains a database or other collection of prefetchtemplates, user behavior (e.g., navigation activity or patterns),prefetch or prioritization heuristics, and/or other data. In particular,the central server may collect, from users' enhanced browsingapparatuses, information regarding web pages (or other content) accessedby the users, what links in those pages were selected for browsing orpreviewing, the order in which they were browsed, etc.

This information may be used to help generate prefetch templates, toprioritize fetching or prefetching, and/or for other purposes. Forexample, by assembling such information on central server 120 from manyusers' enhanced browsing apparatuses, the most popular links withincontent viewed by those users can be determined and/or prioritized forprefetching. Some or all of this data may be replicated on, or sharedwith, enhanced browsing apparatus 102.

Central server 120 may also be a source of ads and content for displayin an enhanced browsing window. The central server may be operated by anorganization that provides enhanced browser apparatus 102, or by adifferent organization.

Optional central server interface 112 communicates with central server120 to access and share data with the central server, as describedabove. Thus, the central server interface may forward to the centralserver information regarding a user's activity (e.g., sites visited,links clicked, search terms employed) and may retrieve informationuseful in identifying or prioritizing target links (e.g., prefetchtemplates, analyses of users' preferred links or content).

In other embodiments, an enhanced browsing apparatus may include more orfewer components, or the functionality of the components described abovemay be distributed in a different fashion. For example, and as describedin a following section, an enhanced browsing apparatus may also includea component for scanning target content for viruses, pornography,spyware, adware or other malware or material unsuitable for certainusers.

One alternative embodiment of the present disclosure may be implementedwithout prefetching or using cache 108. In this embodiment, when a userbrowses a first page and mouses-over or hovers near a link to a secondpage or a control (e.g., icon) associated with the link, an enhancedbrowsing window may still be displayed with content from the secondpage, but the content may not be retrieved until the mouse-over. And,the apparatus may make use of the browser's cache or another cachealready available on the user's computing device.

FIG. 2 depicts an enhanced browsing window according to one embodimentof the present disclosure. In FIG. 2, browser 200 (e.g., MicrosoftInternet Explorer) is open to a first page 202, which includes a list oflinks 204 (e.g., 204 a-204 i). Links 204 are search results in thisexample, but in other implementations may comprise any types of links,to any type of content. The content identified by or associated withlinks 204 may or may not be inter-related. For example, if the linkscomprise results of one search operation, as do links 204 in page 202,their content may be considered inter-related.

Enhanced browsing window 210 is positioned so as to allow a user to seeportions of links 204. However, in other implementations, window 210 maycover links 204 to a greater or lesser degree. Alternatively, any or allof window 210 may be made fully or partially transparent, so that someor all of the content of browser page 202 is viewable even when window210 is displayed. As described above, enhanced browsing window 210 maybe constructed and cached prior to being displayed.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure depicted in FIG. 2, when auser mouses-over the link (e.g., link 204 i) corresponding to thecontent 212 of the enhanced browsing window, or a control (e.g., icon,indicator) associated with the link, the window is automaticallydisplayed. The size and/or position of window 210 may be adjustable by auser, but limits may be placed on the user's ability to re-size orre-position the window.

Ad frame 220 is also positioned within enhanced browsing window 210. Thead frame may be arranged in any position or along any edge of thewindow. Illustratively, ads received along with or as part of content212 from a location identified by link 204 c may be removed or replacedprior to display of the content within window 210.

Content 212 may be reduced in font size to allow it to more fully oreasily fit within window 210, and/or scroll bars (e.g., scroll bar 214)may be provided to allow a user to scroll vertically and/orhorizontally. If the user clicks (e.g., left-clicks) within window 210,page 202 of browser 200 may be replaced by the page or content displayedin the enhanced browsing window. The user may be able to close window210 by simply moving the cursor out of the enhanced browsing window(e.g., to somewhere within browser page 202) or taking other action(e.g., right-clicking within the enhanced browsing window).

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a selectable tab ordrop-down menu 230 is positioned adjacent to, or within, enhancedbrowsing window 210. Clicking on tab 230 opens a menu allowing a user tocustomize one or more features of the enhanced browsing window orapparatus (e.g., size of window 210, how long the user must pause over alink before the window opens, degree of transparency). Alternatively,menus or controls for customizing a user's enhanced browsing may belocated elsewhere within enhanced browsing window 210, or may besummoned with a particular command or user interface input.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, other user interfacecontrols or options may be provided. For example, a set of controls maybe provided to allow a user to specify how the enhanced browsingapparatus should act when the user takes certain action (e.g., clicks onor mouses-over a link within an enhanced browsing window, clicks withinan enhanced browsing window but not on a link, mouses-over a secondtarget link while a first link's content is still being previewed).

In one implementation, buttons or controls (e.g., “load,” “prefetchcontent from all links”) may be provided with an enhanced browsingwindow to allow a user to specifically request the target content ortarget page to be loaded into a browser, to prefetch content or to takesome other action. For example, a “hold” button may allow a user tospecify that the enhanced browsing window should remain open on itscurrent content regardless of subsequent mouse movements, perhaps untilthe user selects a “hold off” button or clicks inside or outside thewindow.

Another button or control may be provided to enable a user toimmediately return to the results of the latest search he or sheconducted. For example, every time the user initiates a search, a “Backto Search Results” button may be configured with the URL (UniformResource Locator) of the search results. Then, until the user initiatesa new search, he or she can select the button to return (in his or herbrowser or an enhanced browsing window) to the latest results.

FIG. 7 depicts an enhanced browsing window according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 7, enhanced browser window710 is employed to preview content within an electronic mail application(e.g., Microsoft Outlook).

In the illustrated implementation, when electronic mail message 702 isdisplayed, content identified by or associated with a link included inthe message (e.g., link 704) may be fetched or prefetched before a userselects the link. Thus, content 712 within enhanced browsing window 710comprises content retrieved from a location identified by link 704. Theenhanced browsing window also includes ad frame 720, which may presentads relevant to content 712 or message 702.

In another implementation, an enhanced browsing window may be employedto preview content of electronic mail messages, such as messages listedor indexed in message folder window 706.

FIG. 3 demonstrates a method for enhanced browsing, according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure. This method may be employed withapparatus 102 of FIG. 1 and is thus implemented on a user's clientcomputing device, which is equipped with a browser or similarapplication.

In state 302, the user's browser is opened at a web page or othercollection of content, which may be considered the “browser page” hereinto differentiate it from another page or other target content displayedin an enhanced browsing window.

In state 304, the enhanced browsing apparatus applies default or customrules to locate a target link on the browser page. Any number ofadditional target links may also be identified. For example, theapparatus may automatically locate all links on the browser page andtreat them as target links. Or, the apparatus may apply a prefetchtemplate, customized for the browser page, to identify links that aremost likely to be of interest to the user.

A prefetch template may be stored (e.g., cached) within the enhancedbrowsing apparatus, or may be stored on a central server for retrievalby the apparatus before or when the browser page is opened. As yetanother alternative, the template or other information for identifying(and/or prioritizing) target links may be retrieved from the same serverthat served the browser page, or may be received as part of the browserpage.

In state 306, content associated with the target link is prefetched. Thetarget content may include all or a portion of the web page, document,image or other data identified by the target link. Thus, the targetcontent may include HTML, XML or other markup language, but in thisembodiment of the present disclosure is not just an image of thecontent. As will be seen below, because the actual content isprefetched, it can be presented in a readable, understandable manner,and can be navigated (e.g., if it contains links). In particular, theprefetched content will not be presented as “thumbnails” or othernon-navigable images, which are often illegible.

One or more ads may also be retrieved, to display with the targetcontent. As described above, the ads may be retrieved from any suitablead source, and may be selected based on the target content, the browserpage, search terms entered by the user, the user's browsing history, orother information.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a target link or statusindicator associated with the target link changes appearance (e.g.,design, color, size, underlining, bold) to indicate when the targetcontent has been fetched or prefetched. In one implementation, a targetlink may first appear (in the browser page) in a first color (e.g.,light blue), but then change to a different color (e.g., dark blue)after the target content has been fetched. Multiple color palettes maybe employed to allow link colors to be changed easily and rapidly.

In another implementation, described in a following section, a statusindicator or icon associated with the target link changes appearance oris altered to indicate the status of the prefetching of content from thetarget link has changed (e.g., been initiated, completed, failed).

In yet another implementation, after content for a target link isprefetched, if the user navigates the browser to that link (i.e., byclicking on it), the content may be loaded almost immediately from theenhanced browsing apparatus' cache (or wherever else it was stored).Thus, the user's browsing experience is enhanced even without using anenhanced browsing window to preview content.

In state 308, an enhanced browsing window is constructed and populatedwith the target content and any ads that were retrieved to accompany thecontent. The content may be resized or may retain its full size, inwhich case scroll bars may be provided for scrolling vertically and/orhorizontally. In different implementations of this embodiment of thepresent disclosure, ads that were received as part of the target contentmay be retained, excised or replaced.

In one implementation, when target content from multiple target links isprefetched, enhanced browser windows may be generated (but notdisplayed) for any number of the links. Thus, if content is prefetchedfor fifty target links, enhanced browsing windows may initially begenerated for any number of the target links, from zero to fifty.Windows may be generated for the remainder later (e.g., after the userstarts previewing content).

In state 310, the enhanced browsing window is cached without beingdisplayed. By constructing the window before it needs to be displayed,the enhanced browsing window can be presented almost instantly when theuser indicates an interest in the target link. In the method of FIG. 3,a separate enhanced browsing window is constructed and cached for eachtarget link whose content was prefetched. Thus, states 304 through 310may be repeated for any number of target links.

In state 312, the enhanced browsing apparatus detects a user mouse-overor other selection of the target link. When a user interface cursor(e.g., mouse cursor, a cursor or selector controlled by the TAB key)appears over or adjacent to the target link or a control (e.g., icon,status indicator) associated with the target link, a predeterminedperiod of time (e.g., one second) may be required to pass before thewindow containing the target content will be switched to visible status.This time period may be adjustable by the user. Illustratively, if theuser employs a keyboard for input (e.g., instead of a mouse), selectionof the target link may be identified by the user's tabbing to the linkand pausing for the necessary time period.

In state 314, when it is determined that the user has moused-over orotherwise selected or expressed an interest in the target link, theenhanced browsing window is made visible. In one implementation, thewindow is approximately 75% of the size of the user's browser, and maybe positioned adjacent to (or overlapping) the target link or a list oflinks that includes the target link. The screen cursor may be positionedwithin the enhanced browsing window, near (or over) the target link.

In optional state 316, enhanced browsing may be extended to the targetcontent so that the user can navigate the content or the enhancedbrowsing window. That is, one or more links within the target contentmay be treated as target links, in which case their associated contentmay be prefetched. Then, if the user mouses-over a target link in thetarget content, or a control (e.g., status indicator) associated withthat link, another enhanced browsing window may be created to displaythe new target content. Or, the target content of the enhanced browsingwindow may be replaced with the new target content.

Illustratively, if the user clicks on the target link associated withthe target content, or left-clicks (i.e., clicks the primary mousebutton) within the target content (but not on a link), the browser pagemay be replaced by the target content or the page containing the targetcontent. The same action may be taken if the user leaves the cursormotionless within the enhanced browsing window for a predeterminedperiod of time (e.g., 5 seconds). If the user clicks on a link withinthe target content, the linked content may replace the target contentwithin the enhanced browsing window or the user's browser may bedirected to that content or page.

In state 318, if the user moves the cursor out of the enhanced browsingwindow, it may close because it may be assumed that the user is nolonger interested in viewing the target content. Or, right-clicking(clicking a mouse button other than the primary button) or executingsome other command within the window (e.g., but not on a link) may causeit to close.

If the user moves the cursor from the window to a second target link,the window may disappear and be replaced with the enhanced browsingwindow constructed for the second target content (or the target contentmay be replaced by the second target content). In one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, if the user rotates a scroll wheel or generatesother predetermined input (e.g., up arrow or down arrow), the cursor maybe automatically moved to the next (or previous) link and thecorresponding target content will be displayed in an enhanced browsingwindow.

In one embodiment, the state of an enhanced browsing window may beretained for some period of time after it is closed. Then, if a link tothe same content is moused-over or otherwise selected for enhancedbrowsing, the window may open with the same state (e.g., centered orscrolled to a portion of the content previously displayed in thewindow).

As one skilled in the art will recognize, the enhanced browsingexperience described herein differs significantly from a traditional“pop-up” within a web page. Traditional pop-ups, when selected, merelydisplay information that was received with or as part of the web page.In contrast, an enhanced browsing window displays content from adifferent page or source, and that content may be navigable. In oneimplementation, the enhanced browsing apparatus may be configured tosuppress traditional pop-ups.

The illustrated method ends after state 318.

In one implementation of this embodiment of the present disclosure, as auser mouses-over different target links and new enhanced browsingwindows are opened, the same or similar ads may accompany each set oftarget content. The ads may change, however, if the user directs herbrowser to a different page, initiates a new search (with new searchterms) in the browser page, or doesn't click on any of the ads. In thelatter case, if a set of ads is presented a number of times and the userexpresses no interest in them, another examination may be performed ofthe user's latest search criteria and/or the content of pages she haschosen to view, and a new set of ads may be selected for placement in anenhanced browsing window.

In another implementation of this embodiment of the present disclosure,a user's enhanced browsing apparatus or window may be branded orcustomized by an organization that provides the enhanced browsingapparatus (e.g., a favored web site) or by some other organization. Inthis case, an enhanced browsing window may be constructed with theprovider's logo, with a link to the provider, with ads sponsored by theprovider, etc.

In yet another implementation, the enhanced browsing apparatus isinstalled and operated at a central server. In this implementation auser navigates to the server to engage and employ the apparatus. Thisimplementation may be well suited for thin clients.

Prefetching Target Content

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, methods are provided foridentifying and/or prioritizing target links for retrieval of associatedtarget content. The links may be identified within a web page or otherbrowsable object (e.g., document, image, electronic mail message).Content from any number of links on the page (i.e., zero or more) may beretrieved.

As described in the preceding section, prefetching of content may bedone in a default manner, or may be based on user-specified criteriaand/or criteria customized for a particular web page or site. Thus,content from links that are more popular or more likely to be selectedby a user may be prefetched before (or instead of) content from linksless likely to be selected by the user.

In one implementation of this embodiment of the present disclosure, aprefetch template may be used to identify a set of links on a page. Aprefetch template may be designed for a specific web page or site, toidentify target links (or recommended target links) by their location orposition on the page. For example, lists of search results (e.g., from asearch engine or merchant web site) may be located in various locationson different pages (e.g., in a single column on the left or right handside of a page, in a two-column table), and prefetch templates for thosepages would be designed accordingly.

Content described by links other than those identified by a prefetchtemplate may also be prefetched, but the target links identified by theprefetch template may be awarded higher priority. Illustratively, thedefault order of prefetching target content may match the order in whichtheir links are posted on the page (or in a list of search results), orcontent for some or all target links may be prefetched simultaneously(e.g., in parallel).

Enhanced browsing apparatuses may maintain (or even generate) prefetchtemplates, or may retrieve them from a central server or other source.Thus, when a particular page is loaded into a browser, an enhancedbrowsing apparatus operating with the browser may quickly retrieve aprefetch template from the central server.

In another implementation, a prefetch template for a web page (or othercontent) may comprise a list of target links on that page. The list maybe prioritized, and may be derived by observing any number of users'selection of links while browsing or viewing the page. Thus, a centralserver may collect data regarding multiple users' browsing activity(e.g., pages visited, links selected), and distill the data to identifyand/or prioritize links on web pages those users' visited.

In other implementations of this embodiment of the present disclosure,all links on a page may be treated as target links by default, or alllinks within a list of search results. Content from any number of targetlinks may be prefetched in any order and/or in parallel with otherlinks' content. Yet further, a link retrieved as part of the contentassociated with a target link may also be treated as a target link, inwhich case content that is multiple pages or multiple links removed fromthe current page (the current page to which a browser is open) may beprefetched without leaving the current page.

In yet other implementations, heuristics may be used to help identifyand/or prioritize target links, in addition to or instead of using aprefetch template (e.g., for a page for which no prefetch template isavailable). For example, a set of heuristics may specify that linkshaving certain characteristics or meeting certain criteria should betarget links, or that target links should be prioritized based on thosecharacteristics or criteria. Illustrative characteristics include: theregion of a page in which a link is located (e.g., center, top, leftside), font size, link color, the number of links to the same content(e.g., the more links there are to a particular page of content, thehigher priority it should receive), a link's proximity to an image orother notable content, etc.

In another implementation of this embodiment a user may be able toselect or de-select target links for prefetching. For example, the usermay be able to enter one particular key sequence (e.g., ALT-B) or selectone particular control or button within a user interface to instruct acontent prefetcher to target one certain link, or all links, on a page,or some other key sequence (e.g., ALT-N) or control to prevent theapparatus from targeting a certain link or any links.

A user may be able to train an enhanced browsing apparatus to identifytarget links. For example, the user may be able to select desired targetlinks on a page (e.g., by drawing a box around them, by mousing-over orclicking on them), after which the apparatus memorizes the links forautomatic identification the next time the user visits the page.Illustratively, to train the apparatus the user may first initiate atraining mode (e.g., by activating a particular user interface control),then select the target links and disengage the training mode.

In one implementation, a user may be able to construct or customize aprefetch template, which may be useful if the user often visits a pagefor which the enhanced browsing apparatus does not have a template. Auser interface for the apparatus may provide controls allowing the userto construct the template by identifying locations of target links inthe page, by specifying that all links are target links, by selectingindividual links as target links, by specifying that certain links arenot target links, by choosing characteristics for selecting targetlinks, etc.

As described above, an enhanced browsing apparatus may collect a user'sbrowsing or previewing (i.e., enhanced browsing) activity to helpidentify target links. Thus, if the user frequently selects or navigatesto links arrayed along the right side of pages at a particular site,upon a subsequent visit to that site the user's enhanced browsingapparatus may automatically treat such links as target links andprefetch their associated content. Similarly, if the user selects linksin a set of links in a particular order (e.g., top to bottom, bottom totop, left to right), the enhanced browsing apparatus may prioritizeprefetching of the links' content accordingly.

Data accumulated by the apparatus may be shared with a central server inorder to accumulate and analyze data for multiple users, which may thenbe distributed to their (and/or other users') enhanced browsingapparatuses to help identify or prioritize target links. For example,based on activity data collected from users who visited a particular website, the central server may identify certain links (or links in acertain location of a page at that site) as being most popular. Thatinformation may be shared with users' apparatuses to make those linkstarget links. In one implementation, however, users may be provided withan option to not share information regarding their browsing activity.

Thus, a centralized database for identifying and/or prioritizing targetlinks may be maintained. Individual enhanced browsing apparatuses mayreceive data from the database on periodic intervals, when a browser isopened (or opened to a particular page), or on some other schedule. Forexample, when a browser is directed to a particular page, the databasemay be accessed to retrieve pertinent data.

In addition to, or instead of, collecting at a central database dataregarding users' activity (e.g., what sites they visited, what linksthey clicked on), similar data may be retrieved from web sites. Thisinformation may indicate which pages/links were most often selected bythe web sites' visitors, the most popular order in which they wereselected, etc. This information may be retrieved by a central server orby a user's enhanced browsing apparatus.

In one method of prefetching, links may be chosen as target links, ortarget links may be prioritized for prefetching, based on a pointsystem. For example, from information accumulated by the enhancedbrowsing apparatus or a central server, links on a web page may beassigned points based on their popularity (e.g., how often they wereselected), the relevance of the associated content, or some othercharacteristic(s). For example, points may be awarded based onheuristics (e.g., font size, location of a link within a page). The morepoints awarded to a link, the more likely it is treated as a target linkand/or the higher priority it may receive for prefetching.

Prefetching is not limited to links present or visible in a single page.For example, a page displayed in a browser may be too long to view atonce, and so some links on that page may be off-screen. Further, and ascan be seen with search result listings, a list of links may spanmultiple pages, with each page linked to the next (e.g., using“previous” and “next” buttons). Therefore, in one method of prefetchingcontent for enhanced browsing, links may be target links even if theyare off-screen or on a page linked to the current page. In general, anynumber of pages that continue or are forward-linked to a current page(e.g., by “next” buttons) may be prefetched, and/or links appearing onthose pages.

In addition, when a web page or other content that contains links isprefetched or displayed in an enhanced browsing window, those links maybe treated as target links. Thus, a user may use the enhanced browsingwindow to quickly navigate several levels or links away from the page towhich his or her browser is currently opened.

In one method of prefetching, when target content cannot be retrieved,the target link's appearance may be altered. For example, the link maybe changed to a different color (e.g., gray, yellow) to alert a userthat the link is not functional. Prefetching may fail because a targetlink is broken or a “page not found” error is received, a necessarycertificate or other security token is not available, or for variousother reasons.

Alternatively, and as described in a following section, statusindicators may be displayed in association with target links, toindicate the status of content fetching or prefetching, and/or thestatus of the content itself.

In one implementation of an embodiment of the present disclosuredescribed in another following section, prefetched content, or contentto be prefetched, is scanned for viruses, obscene or pornographicmaterial, other malware (e.g., spyware, adware), etc.

FIG. 4 demonstrates a method of prefetching electronic data or content,according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As describedabove, prefetching may be performed in many different ways in otherembodiments.

In state 402, a user's browser is open to a web page or other electroniccontent (e.g., document, image, electronic mail message), which may beconsidered the “browser page” herein to differentiate it from a page orother target content displayed in an enhanced browsing window.

In state 404, a set of data for identifying target links in the browserpage may be retrieved from local or remote storage (e.g., from a centralserver). The data may include a prefetch template, a list of specificlinks, heuristics, etc.

In state 406, one or more target links are selected in a default manner(e.g., all links on the page) and/or using data retrieved in state 404.For example, if the page contains a relatively small number of links(e.g., five, ten), they may all be considered target links (andprefetching may begin immediately) without waiting for data designed tofacilitate the identification of target links. Some or all of the linksare to pages or sites different from the browser page, and thereforewill require prefetching of content from different locations than thebrowser page was received from.

In state 408, the target links may be prioritized. For example, data forprioritizing target links may be retrieved separately or in conjunctionwith data for identifying target links. Data for prioritizing targetlinks may include information regarding the relative popularities oflinks on the page (e.g., from a central server, from the web site thatprovided the browser page), a recommended order of priority, heuristics,etc.

In state 410, the target content is prefetched. If the target links wereprioritized, their content may be prefetched in priority order.Additionally, content from multiple target links may be retrieved inparallel. The number of prefetch operations performed in parallel maydepend upon the available communication bandwidth. For example, if theuser has a broadband connection, more prefetches may be done in parallelthan if the user has a dial-up connection.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the target content isretrieved as is. In other words, the content is retrieved in its trueform (e.g., HTML, XML), and is not simply converted into an image (e.g.,a snapshot, a thumbnail) of the content.

Illustratively, the prefetched content may include the full contentdescribed by a target link or located at the specified location (e.g.,URL or Uniform Resource Locator). Or, some of the content located at orretrieved from that location (e.g., an ad, an image) may be discarded.

In state 412, it is determined whether prefetching should proceed to thenext level (i.e., to links within prefetched content) or another page.If so, another page is selected, such as a page retrieved as targetcontent in state 410, and the method returns to state 404. Otherwise,the method ends.

State 412 may be applied sometime after target content is retrieved. Forexample, after content is retrieved in state 410, it may be cached untila user chooses to preview it in an enhanced browsing window. When thisoccurs, the method of FIG. 4 may be applied to the page or content beingpreviewed.

In another method of prefetching, identification of target links and/orprioritization of target links for prefetching may be dynamic, anddepend upon a user's enhanced browsing activity. For example, if a userselects for previewing a first link in a particular position on a webpage, it may be assumed that he or she will also want to preview contentfrom links close to the first link. Thus, some prediction may be made towhat content a viewer may wish to preview.

In yet another implementation of this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, content may be prefetched from a pay-per-click orpay-for-performance ad (e.g., a textual ad, a banner, an image) withoutthe prefetching counting as a “click.” In particular, an advertisementor other type of content may register each user “click through” (orselection) of the ad, with each click through generating revenue to anentity that presented the ad.

In this implementation, content from the ad is prefetched like othercontent, but no “click through” is registered until the user actuallyselects the ad for browsing (or, in one alternative implementation,until he mouses-over the ad). Illustratively, when the ad content isprefetched, the URL or XML code used for the prefetching may include atag, keyword or other indicator that the ad content is not beingretrieved as part of a click through. When the user selects the link(i.e., generates a click through), then a normal “click through” of thead may be initiated. This helps ensure that the ad revenue is correctlyapportioned. However, the content may be served from the prefetchedversion rather than awaiting the newly requested copy.

In another method of prefetching target content, content is fetched whena user mouses-over an icon or other graphical object associated with alink to the content. Thus, if the content is not prefetched before theuser expresses an interest in the link, it is fetched in reaction to themouse-over.

Look-Ahead Security Scanning

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and apparatus areprovided for performing look-ahead security scanning or analysis ofelectronic content a user may access. Performing look-ahead security mayinvolve scanning the content for various types or forms of securitythreats.

The term “security threat” as used to describe implementations of thisembodiment of the present disclosure, encompasses any content that maycompromise or adversely affect a computing device or its use, but mayalso include content that a user of the device does not want to receive.Security threats therefore include viruses, worms, trojan horses,spyware, adware, cookies, scripts, phishing attacks, buffer overflows,etc., as well as undesirable content such as pornography oradvertisements.

As described below, a look-ahead security module may search for specificthreats (e.g., known viruses or cross-site scripts), or may searchgenerally for malicious code, malware or undesirable content. Any typeof data or information may be analyzed or examined for security threats,including text, executable or interpretable code, graphics, and so on.

An embodiment of the present disclosure described in this section may beimplemented with an embodiment of the present disclosure described inanother section. For example, content that is scanned may comprisetarget content being fetched or prefetched for display in an enhancedbrowsing window.

FIG. 9 illustrates a computing environment in which an implementation ofthis embodiment of the present disclosure may be operated. In thisenvironment, a user operates client computing device 902, which may be amobile, desktop or workstation computer, a personal digital assistant orother device capable of providing the user access to electronic content.Content accessed on client device 902 may be retrieved from varioussources 910, and may include web pages, documents, graphics, scripts,applets, etc.

Client device 902 includes look-ahead security module 904, one or moresafe caches 906 and one or more applications 908 allowing a user toaccess content from sources 910. Illustrative applications include abrowser, a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, a databasemanagement system, an electronic mail program, an instant messagingprogram, a graphics program, and so on.

In one implementation, while application 908 executes, look-aheadsecurity module 904 detects a link displayed by the application tocontent offered by a content source 910. Before a user clicks on orselects the link to access the content (in the same or a differentapplication), security module 904 retrieves the content, places it insafe cache 906 and analyzes it to determine if it contains a securitythreat.

Safe cache 906 comprises data storage (e.g., memory, disk storage) thatcan be used to isolate the proactively retrieved content while it isscanned or analyzed by look-ahead security module 904. In oneimplementation, an executable or interpretable portion of the content(e.g., an applet, a script) may be executed or interpreted while thecontent is stored in the safe cache, and before an application 908 canopen or access the content. This may be done to observe its behavior andhelp determine whether the content comprises a security threat.

More particularly, in one implementation a safe cache is designed toprevent the content from altering or possibly even accessing memory orstorage locations outside the safe cache, on client device 902 orelsewhere. For example, a virtual operating system, virtual computer orother construct may be implemented using safe cache 906 to emulate anenvironment in which the content would normally be opened. Securitymodule 904 can thus determine what type of input, output or otheroperation(s) the content is designed to perform. Its operation can becompared to known viruses, worms, trojan horses or other malicious codeto determine if the content poses a threat.

A script, URL (Uniform Resource Locator), data pattern or other code mayalternatively be analyzed without executing or interpreting it within asafe cache. For example, a data, string or code pattern may be analyzedto determine if it may be intended to facilitate a buffer overflow. Ascript or URL may be parsed to determine if it is part of a cross-sitescript or phishing attack.

Although the security module may primarily analyze content retrievedfrom sources external to the client computing device, in otherimplementations look-ahead security module 904 may scan contentretrieved from within client computing device 902.

Security scanning or analysis may be performed by look-ahead securitymodule 904 for content corresponding to any number of links within adocument or other set of data opened by application 908. Securitythreats within such content can therefore be detected and dealt withbefore the same (or a different) application opens or presents thecontent to the user.

Unlike some traditional threat-detection software, look-ahead securitymodule 904 can prevent the content from ever being able to infect orotherwise affect the client computing device. And, the look-ahead natureof the security module allows the user to be warned of possible securitythreats (e.g., content that appears to be malicious or undesirable butdoes not precisely match a known threat) even before he or she attemptsto open or access the content.

In one implementation, a link to content analyzed by security module 904may be altered to indicate the status of the content. For example, onecolor or attribute (e.g., font, font size) may be used for the linkbefore the content is analyzed. A different color or attribute may beapplied after analysis, to indicate that the content contains a securitythreat, does not contain a security threat or may contain a threat(e.g., the analysis was inconclusive).

In another implementation, an icon or indicator associated with the linkmay be altered, or different icons/indicators may be used, to indicatewhether a security threat was detected. This implementation may beapplied with an embodiment of the present disclosure that provides theuser with enhanced browsing, wherein the icon or indicator may be usedto open fetched or prefetched content.

In yet another implementation, when a user expresses an interest in thecontent, by clicking (or mousing over) the link or an associated icon orindicator, a warning message or alert may be displayed to alert the userto the presence of a security threat within the content. The lack ofsuch an alert may indicate that the content is safe. A warning messagemay identify a specific security threat (e.g., by providing the name ofa detected virus) and/or may report the type of threat (e.g., virus,spyware, pornography).

A user may be presented with various options or actions to be takenafter content is scanned. For example, a link to content containing adefinite threat may be deleted or disabled to prevent it from beingactivated. Or, a threat may be ignored (thereby allowing the content tobe opened), the document may be closed, the threat may be disabled orexcised from the content, etc.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure depicted in FIG. 9, centralserver 920 may be employed to perform look-ahead security scanningand/or collect results of security scanning performed by clientcomputing devices. Central server 920 may perform look-ahead securityscanning or analysis in addition to, or in place of, client device 902.

Any number of client computing devices may be coupled to central server920, with some or all of them relying upon the central server to performsecurity scanning. Look-ahead security module 924 may operate similarlyto security module 904 of client device 902, to proactively retrievecontent for security scanning within a safe cache 926.

In one implementation, central server 920 may perform look-aheadsecurity scanning for thin clients or other devices that have lowcommunication bandwidth connections, limited processing capability orother limitations.

In another implementation, look-ahead security module 924 of centralserver 920 may crawl or “spider” the Internet or another collection ofcontent sources (e.g., an intranet, a local or wide area network) toretrieve content for security scanning. Thus, security module 924 maycomprise a search engine designed to search for virtually any type ofsecurity threat and/or undesirable content, without waiting for a useror user application to access or attempt to access the content.

Database 928 may be used to assemble various results, statistics orother metadata regarding security scanning performed by a clientcomputing device and/or central server 920. Thus, when a client deviceor the central server scans some content, the results of that scan maybe transmitted to database 928. Such results may identify the content inany suitable manner (e.g., by filename, Uniform Resource Identifier orURI), and indicate what security threats were found, if any.

Database 928 may therefore be consulted when a look-ahead securitymodule operating on client computing device 902 or central server 920identifies a link to content that should be scanned. If an identity ofthe content matches a result stored in the database, the stored resultsmay be adopted instead of re-scanning the content. Any suitable meansmay be employed to match the identities of a current piece of contentand content that was previously scanned or analyzed (e.g., name, URI,CRC, checksum, size).

Central server 920 may be operated by an organization that provideslook-ahead security module 904, by a content source, or some otherentity.

In the environment depicted in FIG. 9, look-ahead security scanning ofany type of linked content may be performed on either or both a clientcomputing device and a central server. Advantageously, the scanning isperformed before the content is opened by an application designed toprovide a user access to the content (e.g., for viewing, for editing),and/or before the user even selects or expresses an interest in the linkor the content.

A look-ahead security module may apply look-ahead security to any or allcontent linked to a document opened by an application. Links andassociated content may be prioritized for scanning based on location ororder within the page, a location of linked content, type of content,etc.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart demonstrating a method of performing look-aheadsecurity, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In thisembodiment, security scanning or analysis may be performed locally at aclient device and/or at a central server. For example, the client devicemay scan a first content object (e.g., a script, a web page) linked to adocument opened in an application executing on the client, while thecentral server scans content linked to the first content object.

In operation 1002 of this method, an application executing on a user'sclient computing device (e.g., a word processor, an electronic mailclient, an instant messenger client, a web browser, a spreadsheetprogram) opens a document (e.g., a word processing document, a list ofelectronic mail messages, a chat window, a web page, a spreadsheet)containing any number of links to electronic data or content.

The link may be a traditional HTML (HyperText Markup Language)hyperlink, or may comprise virtually any other type of link (e.g.,script-based, flash-based, XML or Extensible Markup Language). Thelinked content may comprise another document or some other type ofcontent that can be accessed with a computing device, and may includestatic or dynamic text or graphics, executable or interpretable code,etc.

In operation 1004, a link and its associated content are identified(e.g., by a look-ahead security module operating on the client device).The link may be identified before a user clicks on the link or takesother action to open the associated content.

The content may be identified by filename, URI, path, location, the linkor other means, and may be located within or external to the clientdevice. As exemplified by a typical web page, the content may be offeredby a source other than the source of the document containing the link tothe content.

A security threat may be more likely to be found within content notcontrolled by the provider of the document. Therefore, links to contentoffered by the document provider may not be subjected to look-aheadsecurity, or may receive lower priority than links to content from othersources.

Thus, links may be prioritized based on some estimate of risk or danger.In particular, links to content from unknown providers (or providersknown to have previously offered content containing a security threat)may be followed and checked before other links.

In optional operation 1006, when the linked content is identified, adatabase maintained on a central server (or elsewhere) may be consultedto determine if a security threat was previously identified within thecontent. The database may be maintained by a provider of the look-aheadsecurity module or a third party (e.g., a content provider, a providerof other security related software).

In operation 1008, the linked content is retrieved and stored in a safecache or proxy cache. As described above, a safe cache may be configuredto allow the content to exhibit its normal behavior (e.g., within avirtual operating system or on a virtual desktop), but may prevent thecontent from actually altering memory, storage or other components ofthe computing device containing the safe cache.

The safe cache may be located on the user's client computing device, ormay be located on a central server. Yet further, content from multiplelinks in the document may be analyzed for security threats, and someanalysis may be performed on the client device, while other analysis isdone on the central server.

In one implementation featuring a central server having a safe cache,the central server may proactively spider or crawl any number of contentsources to retrieve and analyze content. In this implementation, any orall of operations 1002-1006 may be omitted.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the safe cacheis separate from any cache employed by the application that opened thedocument. This helps ensure that malicious content never has anopportunity to infect the client device.

Yet further, when the content is opened for the user, it may be openedfrom the safe cache (e.g., rather than an application's cache),especially if the user chooses to ignore any warnings or alerts postedby the look-ahead security module. This may be done to prevent thecontent from loading or running any malicious code.

In operation 1010, the content is scanned or analyzed within the safecache. The analysis may search the content for any type or types ofsecurity threats or undesirable components, and may therefore catchcontent that would otherwise damage or alter the user's client device,or that would be objectionable to the user if opened on the device.

To assist in the security scanning, multiple programs or modules may beinvoked separately or in an integrated manner. For example, if thecontent is sequestered in a safe cache on the client computing device,scanning software included with a look-ahead security module may beinvoked, but other security software on the client may also be invoked(e.g., an anti-virus program, a program for eradicating adware) orsoftware may be imported from a central server to assist in thescanning. Similarly, if the safe cache is located on the central server,any security software available on the central server may be employed.

In addition, however, a third party tool or program may also beemployed. For example, an anti-virus software provider's server may becontacted to learn of the latest viruses, worms or other threats. Or, adata pattern or code pattern indicative of a security threat may beretrieved from a third party and compared to content within a safe cacheon the client computing device or the central server. Thus, tools,utilities and other software for detecting security threats andundesirable content from virtually any provider may be applied tocontent that has been isolated within a safe cache.

In operation 1012, the link to the content, or an associatedicon/indicator, may be configured or modified to reflect a result of thescanning. Illustratively, if a threat is detected, some attribute of thelink or an indicator placed near the link may be altered (e.g., color,size). Or, the link may be disabled (permanently or temporarily).

In one implementation, after the content is scanned, if the userhighlights, clicks on, mouses-over or otherwise expresses an interest inthe content, link or associated indicator, more details of the scan maybe provided. For example, a window or dialog box may be opened to reportthe scan results, and may identify any specific threats that wereidentified (e.g., by name). The results may indicate that a securitythreat (or undesirable content) was or was not found, or that the scanwas inconclusive. Illustratively, a textual or graphical measure of riskmay be provided.

Information regarding a detected threat may be-retrieved from a centralserver or a third party and reported to the user. Such information mayinclude a level of risk, the threat's impact on the client device, etc.

In optional operation 1014, results of the scan may be reported to acentral security database. Scan results may be collected to allowpreemptory disabling of links to content previously determined tocontain a threat, to track the activity of hackers, spammers and/orother threat sources, etc.

In operation 1016, if the content is deemed safe (e.g., no threatsdetected, no serious threats detected), the method advances to operation1020. If a security threat was detected or the scan was inconclusive,the method continues with operation 1018.

In operation 1018, the user may be offered any number of options forproceeding. Illustrative options include ignoring the danger (andallowing the content to be opened), quarantining the content, disablingthe link, closing the document, opening the content in a safe mode(e.g., in a virtual desktop) that prevents the content from adverselyaltering the client computing device, excising the threat from thecontent and allowing the remainder to be opened, etc.

Depending on the user's choice, the method may end (e.g., if the userchooses to disable the link or close the document), may proceed tooperation 1020, may return to operation 1002 to open another document,may return to operation 1004 to select another link, etc.

In operation 1020, the content is to be accessed. The content may befree of security threats or the user may have chosen to ignore anythreats. The content may be opened in the same application that openedthe original document, or in a different application. The content may becopied from the safe cache into a cache or other memory controlled bythe application that opens the content, or may be opened within the safecache.

After operation 1020, the method may end or may return to operation 1004to select a link within the content or another link within the originaldocument.

The method described above in conjunction with FIG. 10 is just onemethod of performing look-ahead security. Other methods may be derivedfrom the preceding description, the figures and other sections of thisdocument without exceeding the scope of the present disclosure.

Indicating Fetching and/or Content Status

In one embodiment of the present disclosure for providing enhancedbrowsing, icons, buttons or other indicators are displayed within a pageof electronic data to indicate the status of content fetching orprefetching from target links within that page, and/or the status of thetarget content. The indicators, which may be considered “statusindicators,” may comprise any type of object (e.g., an animated orstatic icon) that can embedded within electronic content and provide avisual and/or audio status indication.

When configured to indicate content status, a status indicator mayreveal whether a security threat was detected within the target content.As described in a preceding section, security threats may includeviruses, spyware, adware, other malware, pornography, other types ofobscene or inappropriate content, etc.

A status indicator may also, or instead, indicate the status of a targetlink or an electronic connection to a content location identified by thelink. For example, a status indicator may reveal that a link is broken,that an electronic connection to the linked site or page has lowbandwidth or is noisy, that a connection is fast or slow, or may providesome other information regarding the quality or status of the link orcommunication connection. Status indicators may be received as part ofthe web page or other content in which they are displayed.Alternatively, the indicators may be dynamically inserted by some scriptor code included in the web page, by a user interface configured tofacilitate enhanced browsing (e.g., user interface 104 of FIG. 1),another component of an enhanced browsing apparatus, or by some otherclient application or browser plug-in.

Individual status indicators may be associated with each target link (orone indicator may be associated with multiple target links), and maycomprise controls for taking some action relating to enhanced browsing.For example, left-clicking or mousing-over an indicator associated witha target link (with or without some other key input, such as an ALT key)may serve as a trigger for fetching, re-fetching or prefetching thecorresponding target content and/or displaying an enhanced browsingwindow containing the content.

Some other action (e.g., right-clicking on an indicator, ALT-clicking)may open a menu or set of options for configuring an enhanced browsingexperience (e.g., to turn prefetching on or off, adjust the timing withwhich an enhanced browsing window is opened or closed, choose the typeof information to indicate with an indicator, configure user interfacecontrols).

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, indicators are insertedwhen target links are identified, and may change appearance to indicatethat prefetching of target content is initiated, completed, delayed,impossible, etc. An indication that prefetching is complete may meanthat the target content has been prefetched and is ready for display inan enhanced browsing window. An indication of successful prefetching mayinherently indicate that the content has been cached, or such status maybe separately indicated.

Indications of prefetching failure may differ for different reasons forthe failure (e.g., connection timed out, target content unavailable,broken link) or may be uniform and simply reveal that prefetching couldnot be completed. A status indicator may indicate that prefetching ispartially complete, and may even indicate how complete (e.g., byfraction or percentage).

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented within a searchresult listing, a shopping site, electronic mail (web or client-based),online classified ads, job boards, blogs, news story listing, andvirtually any other type of application or utility that involvescollections of links. These implementations may therefore be configuredfor operation with browsers, electronic mail programs, news readers,search clients, word processing applications, spreadsheet programs,databases, etc. A status indicator may be placed beside, above, below orin some other location that may readily indicate an association betweenthe indicator and the associated link. Placement of status indicatorsmay be configurable by users.

Indicators may be embedded into a web page via DHTML (Dynamic HyperTextMarkup Language), javaScript or some other programming or scriptinglanguage. The indicators may become part of the layout of the page inwhich they appear, or may float over the browsing window and thereforenot be part of the page.

Indicators need not always be visible. Whether a particular indicator isdisplayed may depend on the number of target links on a page, the typeof information represented by the indicator, how the page is laid out,etc. For example, if a page comprises multiple frames with many links,indicators associated with some links may not appear until a cursor ismoved into a particular frame. In one embodiment, a status indicator maynot be displayed for a link if content cannot be prefetched from thatlink.

As prefetching of target content proceeds, a status indicator associatedwith the corresponding target link may change appearance. For example, astatus indicator may flash, blink, change color or intensity, changesound, changed design, exhibit motion, etc. Or, an indicator indicatinga first status of the prefetching may be replaced by another indicatorindicating a different status. The status indicator associated withtarget content currently displayed in an enhanced. browsing window maybe highlighted or otherwise marked to show that it is the current statusindicator.

FIG. 8 demonstrates how status indicators for indicating prefetchingand/or content status may appear in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 8, web page 802 is displayed by browser 800, andincludes target links 804 a-804 d. Individual indicators 814 a-814 d areassociated with the target links.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, a status indicatorcomprises a rectangular icon, possibly reminiscent of a miniature webpage. Before prefetching of content for an associated target linkcommences, an icon may be plain, dim or opaque, as shown by indicator814 c. When prefetching successfully completes, as shown by indicator814 a, a lightning bolt, check mark or other affirmative symbol is addedto the icon.

For a target link whose content is currently being prefetched, a statusindicator (e.g., indicator 814 b) may include an arrow or other symbolof activity. If a particular target link's content cannot be fetched(e.g., or prefetching times out), the associated status indicator may bemarked with an “X”, a slash or other negative symbol, as illustrated byindicator 814 d.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, a statusindicator such as indicator 814 c may first appear when a target link isidentified. The indicator may retain the same appearance untilprefetching succeeds (e.g., indicator 814 a) or fails (e.g., indicator814 d). In this alternative embodiment, therefore, indicator 814 b maynot be employed, especially if a high-speed data connection isavailable, which would allow prefetching to be completed quickly.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, content from a first targetlink is displayed when a user mouses-over or selects in some othermanner an indicator associated with the first target link. The user maythen rotate a mouse scroll wheel or provide other input (e.g., press anarrow key) to display content fetched or prefetched from a next targetlink or previous target link, depending on the direction of rotation.Thus, in this embodiment of the present disclosure, content frommultiple target links may be viewed quickly, without requiring finecursor movement.

When a scroll wheel (or equivalent input) is used to move from onestatus indicator to another, the main browser page may be scrolled bythe distance between the two status indicators, unless the page can nolonger be scrolled in the corresponding direction. Regardless of whetherthe main browser page can be scrolled the same distance, the cursor usedto mouse-over the status indicator may be repositioned to the nextstatus indicator. A time delay may be imposed when a user scrolls fromone status indicator to another, to help prevent from scrolling too faror to the wrong status indicator.

In one implementation of this embodiment, the cursor is automaticallymoved to the next, or previous, status indicator. And, the web page inwhich the target links are displayed may also scroll (e.g., to keep thecursor in relatively the same location of the display screen). Thetarget links and associated status indicators need not be alignedlinearly. If not linear in alignment, as the web page scrolls in onedirection the cursor may be offset to place it over the next indicator.

If an enhanced browsing window in which target content is displayednormally closes after some period of time when the user's cursor isoutside the enhanced browsing window (e.g., when it is hovering over theassociated status indicator), in this embodiment of the presentdisclosure, that behavior may be modified so that the window does notclose while the cursor remains on (or near) an indicator. For example,until the cursor is no longer positioned above a status indicator, orsome other action is taken, scrolling the mouse wheel may continue tocause content from different target links to be displayed (in the sameor different enhanced browsing windows).

Other user input may affect the user's enhanced browsing experience insimilar or different ways. For example, pressing up and down arrow keys(or left and right arrow keys) while a mouse cursor is positioned withinthe enhanced browsing window may cause the displayed target content toscroll. Pressing those keys while the cursor is in the main browserpage, however, may cause the cursor to move to the previous or nextstatus indicator (and change the target content displayed in an enhancedbrowsing window).

Similarly, pressing page-up and page-down keys or clicking appropriatecontrols (e.g., “previous” and “next,” “forward” and “backward”) while amouse cursor is positioned within the enhanced browsing window may causethe displayed target content to be replaced by the content associatedwith the previous or next status indicator. Providing the same inputwhile the cursor is positioned in the main browser page, however, maycause the content of that page to scroll.

Enhanced Browsing Stripe

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an enhanced browsing stripeor column is provided for facilitating enhanced browsing of targetcontent identified by multiple links in a page. For example, when a listof search result links (e.g., from a search engine, from a merchant orauction site) is displayed in a browser, the enhanced browsing stripemay be overlaid or superimposed on the list.

A user interface cursor may then be moved within the stripe and, as thecursor passes over or adjacent to a link, an enhanced browsing windowmay be opened to display the target content. Or, if an enhanced browsingwindow is already open, the displayed target content may change as thecursor reaches different links.

In different implementations, an enhanced browsing stripe or column maybe horizontal, vertical, diagonal or even non-linear, so as to overlayor remain close to links in a browser page. A stripe may be of anythickness (e.g., one-quarter inch, one centimeter), and may betransparent or semi-transparent (e.g., light gray) so as to allow a userto read or identify a link underneath the stripe.

When a list of links is I-irk presented (e.g., in a browser page), thestripe may or may not be automatically applied. If not, when a usermouses-over or selects a first target link in a list and an enhancedbrowsing window is displayed with the corresponding target content, thestripe may be presented at that time. The stripe may therefore appearadjacent to an enhanced browsing window or as one edge or border of thewindow.

In FIG. 2, stripe 230 is placed adjacent to the left edge of enhancedbrowsing window 210, but only extends over the list of links 204, notthe full length of the window. The stripe may extend the full length ofthe window in other implementations. As can be seen in FIG. 2, stripe230 extends below the bottom edge of window 210, so that it appears overall links 204.

In one implementation, when an enhanced browsing window is opened and anenhanced browsing stripe displayed, a user interface cursor (e.g., mousecursor 240 in FIG. 2) may be moved to a position within the stripe andon top of or near the target link whose content is displayed within thewindow. This may make it easier for a user to quickly preview contentfrom other links, by moving the cursor within the stripe to those links.The stripe may be closed or removed if the cursor is moved (or clicked)outside of the stripe and an open enhanced browsing window.Alternatively, the cursor may be initially placed within the enhancedbrowsing window.

If the cursor is moved within the stripe to one end of the stripe, andthe list of links associated with the stripe extends past that end, offthe display device (e.g., to another page or screen), the web page orother content containing the list of links may be automatically scrolledto reveal additional links. The stripe will automatically extend as thecontent is scrolled, for as long as additional links appear.Alternatively, a stripe may extend even beyond the list of links, toallow a user to continue scrolling the web page (e.g., to the end of thepage). If an enhanced browsing window is open when the web page isscrolled, the window may remain in the same location of the displaydevice as scrolling continues.

An enhanced browsing stripe may be generated and maintained by a userinterface or other component of an enhanced browsing apparatus.

FIG. 5 demonstrates a method of using an enhanced browsing stripe orcolumn to facilitate enhanced browsing, according to one embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

In state 502, a user's browser is opened at a web page or otherelectronic content (e.g., document, image, electronic mail message) thatcontains a list of search result links. The web page may be consideredthe “browser page” herein to differentiate it from a page or othertarget content displayed in an enhanced browsing window.

In state 504, target links are identified, including some or all of thesearch result links. Any or all links may be identified by default, aprefetch template may be applied, a list of most popular links may beused, etc. The links may be prioritized, and content identified by someor all target links is retrieved.

Enhanced browsing windows may be constructed (but not yet displayed) fortarget content for some or all of the target links. Illustratively, alltarget content is retrieved, but not necessarily all at the same time(i.e., in parallel).

In state 506, an enhanced browsing stripe is displayed on top of thelist of search results. The stripe may be displayed as soon as one ormore target links' content is retrieved, may be displayed when a firstenhanced browsing window is displayed, or may be displayed as soon asthe target links are identified.

In state 508, as the user moves a user interface cursor over targetlinks, but within the enhanced browsing stripe, target content for thelinks is displayed in one or more enhanced browsing windows. Forexample, a first window may be opened when the user mouses-over a firsttarget link. That window may remain open while the user moves thecursor, and other links' content may replace the first link's content inthe window. Alternatively, an enhanced browsing window may open when theuser mouses-over a target link, and then close when the cursor leavesthe link.

In state 510, if the cursor is moved to the edge of the browser windowand the list of search results extends to another page or screen, thebrowser page will be scrolled as needed (e.g., upward, to the lefty tobring other links onscreen. The enhanced browsing stripe will extend orelongate as the page scrolls. After state 510, the method ends.

Graphical History Navigation Tree for Searching/Browsing

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and apparatus areprovided for facilitating a user's navigation or browsing of searchresults or some other collection of interrelated links to electronicdata. In one implementation of this embodiment, a graphical historynavigation tree is rendered, wherein each node corresponds to adifferent web page or other set of data (e.g., documents, images,electronic mail messages).

The tree may be displayed anywhere within the user's display screen,such as within a window placed immediately below an enhanced browsingwindow (or immediately below a location at which an enhanced browsingwindow may be opened), along the left or right side of the displayscreen, etc. Within its window, a history navigation tree may start witha root representing a new set of search results or a new browsingsession, and thereafter grow in any direction (e.g., from left to right,from top to bottom). A new tree root may be placed when a new search isinitiated, when a new browser window is opened, or anytime a userrequests a new tree be started.

Execution of a new search may be detected by monitoring the web site orpage a user is browsing. Initiation of a new browsing session may beassumed when a browser is opened. If the site the user is browsingemploys a search engine and the user engages the engine, a root of a newhistory navigation tree may be placed at that time. Any previous historynavigation trees may still appear in the same window, but may bescrolled off-screen as the current tree grows.

In one embodiment, each time the user navigates (e.g., in the browser)to or previews (e.g., in an enhanced browsing window) one of the searchresult listings (or some other top-level link within the page beingbrowsed), a new child node is added to the current tree and connected tothe root. As the user continues to navigate or preview linked content,yet more nodes are added and linked to the history navigation tree.Thus, for each page, site or other collection of content the useraccesses, another node is added to the tree.

Thereafter, the user can quickly navigate to or preview contentpreviously visited by selecting the appropriate node. Illustratively, ifthe user clicks (e.g., left-clicks) on a node, the user's browser isopened to the corresponding content. If the user mouses-over a node(e.g., for a predetermined period of time) or right-clicks on the node,the corresponding content may be opened for previewing in an enhancedbrowsing window.

Thus, an enhanced browsing apparatus's cache may store contentcorresponding to any number of nodes in the current history navigationtree, and/or previous trees. Alternatively, the content may be retrievedfrom the target page or site at the time the user clicks on ormouses-over a node.

When the user clicks on or mouses-over a node corresponding to aparticular web domain or site, a list of links visited at that domainmay be displayed. Thus, a node may represent a collection of web pagesor content, not just a single document.

A user may be permitted to alter the appearance of a node. For example,if the user decides that a particular page warrants a closer examinationif nothing more interesting or helpful is found, he may choose to changethe node's color, size or other characteristic (e.g., make it blink,animate it) to mark it. One particular marking may be applied toidentify the node corresponding to content the user is currentlybrowsing or previewing.

Similarly, the user may be able to notate a node and/or search (e.g., toname the search) by selecting it (e.g., right-clicking) and entering hisnotes into a file that will be saved with the tree.

The appearance of a node or a link between nodes may be configured toreflect a security status of associated content. For example, a nodecorresponding to content that has been determined to contain a securitythreat may have a different color, shape size or other attribute thannodes associated with safe content.

As described above, a new search/browsing history navigation tree may bestarted for each new search. However, when a user merely modifies thesearch terms of a current (or previous) search, this may simply resultin a new branch being added to the current (or previous) tree.

A search/browsing history navigation tree may be generated andmaintained by a user interface or other component of an enhancedbrowsing apparatus.

FIG. 6 depicts a search/browsing history navigation tree, according toone embodiment of the present disclosure. Program code for generatingsuch a tree may be implemented as a plug-in to an existing browser.

In FIG. 6, window 602 tree frame 604 and ad frame 606. The horizontalnature of window 602 makes the window suited for placement above orbelow an enhanced browsing window. In other embodiments, window 602 maybe oriented vertically.

The history navigation tree displayed in tree frame 604 begins with root610, which, in this example, corresponds to a search for a used Hondaautomobile. This search may have returned any number of links torelevant content. Among those links, the user has so far browsed orpreviewed web pages or sites identified by two top-level links,corresponding to nodes 612, 614.

As the user visited or previewed content linked to those pages,additional nodes were added to represent that content. As shown in FIG.6, any number of nodes may be notated. Such notations may beautomatically extracted from HTML of the corresponding content, or maybe specified by the user. Logos of organizations associated with anode's content may be displayed in addition to (or instead of)descriptive text.

Window 602 is expanded in FIG. 6 to allow for closer inspection. Indifferent implementations of this embodiment of the present disclosure,the window may be relatively narrow in height (when alignedhorizontally) or width (when aligned vertically), on the order of 0.5inches to 1.5 inches.

The visual history navigation tree allows a user to easily track hisnavigation and quickly jump from one node's content to another's.Because window 602 may remain open even after the user navigates awayfrom the search results, he can quickly and easily return. Window 602may include standard controls (e.g., buttons) to close, expand, minimizeor otherwise manipulate the window.

Because a history navigation tree may be saved (e.g., to disk), the usermay open a history navigation tree window (e.g., using the normalbrowser drop-down menus), which may be automatically populated with themost recent tree.

Ads displayed in ad frame 606 may include ads relevant to the searchassociated with the tree in tree frame 604, ads relevant to the specificnode the user is at, pay-per-click sponsored ads, etc. Either or both oftree frame 604 and ad frame 606 may include scroll bars (horizontaland/or vertical).

The program environment in which a present embodiment of the presentdisclosure is executed illustratively incorporates a general-purposecomputer or a special purpose device such as a hand-held computer.Details of such devices (e.g., processor, memory, data storage, display)may be omitted for the sake of clarity.

It should also be understood that the techniques of the presentdisclosure may be implemented using a variety of technologies. Forexample, the methods described herein may be implemented in softwareexecuting on a computer system, or implemented in hardware utilizingeither a combination of microprocessors or other specially designedapplication specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, orvarious combinations thereof. In particular, the methods describedherein may be implemented by a series of computer-executableinstructions residing on a suitable computer-readable medium. Suitablecomputer-readable media may include volatile (e.g., RAM) and/ornon-volatile (e.g., ROM, disk) memory, carrier waves and transmissionmedia (e.g., copper wire, coaxial cable, fiber optic media). Exemplarycarrier waves may take the form of electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals conveying digital data streams along a local network, apublicly accessible network such as the Internet or some othercommunication link.

The foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure have been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description only. They are not intendedto be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the forms disclosed.Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the appendedclaims, not the preceding disclosure.

1. A method of secure scanning of a second web page linked to a firstweb page being displayed by a browser in a browser window, the methodcomprising: identifying, in the first web page, a target link to thesecond web page, wherein the target link is identified from one or morelinks that are contained within the first web page, wherein the one ormore links are prioritized by a client computing device based on alocation of the one or more links in the first web page to determine aprefetching order, and wherein the target link is identified andprioritized before a request for content of the second web page is sentfrom the client computing device to a computing device that stores thecontent of the second web page; prior to receiving a user selection ofthe target link or of an indicator associated with the target link,prefetching content from the second web page, the content including webpage data, applets, or scripts; loading the prefetched content from thesecond web page into a safe cache on the client computing deviceaccording to the prefetching order before receiving the user selectionof the target link or of the indicator associated with the target linkand before the content of the second web page is opened by anapplication configured to provide access to the content of the secondweb page on the client computing device; and scanning the prefetchedcontent from the second web page for a security threat, within the safecache, wherein the safe cache is configured to prevent the prefetchedcontent from altering a memory location or storage location external tothe safe cache.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detectingplacement of a cursor proximate to the target link or the indicatorassociated with the target link; and in response to the detecting: inresponse to identifying a security threat with the prefetched content,presenting a warning along with one or more selectable options,including an option to ignore the warning; and in response toidentifying no security threat with the prefetched content or receivingfrom the user a selectable option to ignore the warning, causing displayof a second window comprising the prefetched content.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising prior to said causing display of a secondwindow: generating but not displaying the second window; populating thesecond window with the prefetched content; and caching the secondwindow.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the second window is anenhanced browsing window lacking one or more functions provided by thebrowser window.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the second window isconfigured to close in response to movement of the cursor out of thesecond window.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein: the indicator isconfigured with a first appearance if no security threat is identifiedin the prefetched content; and the indicator is configured with adifferent appearance if a security threat is identified in theprefetched content.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the prefetchedcontent contains executable code and said scanning comprises executingthe code within the safe cache to determine a behavior of the executablecode.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: notifying a centralserver of a result of the scanning the prefetched content for a securitythreat.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: prior to saidscanning, querying the central server for a result of a previousscanning of the prefetched content.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinthe security threat comprises one or more of a virus, a worm, or atrojan horse.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the security threatcomprises one or more of spyware or adware.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the security threat comprises one or more of a phishing attack,a cookie, or a script.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium storing instructions thereon that, if executed by a computingdevice, cause the computing device to perform operations of enhancedbrowsing with security scanning, the instructions comprising:instructions to identify, in a first web page, a target link to a secondweb page, wherein the target link is identified from one or more linksthat are displayed within the first web page, wherein the one or morelinks are prioritized by a client computing device to determine aprefetching order based on an appearance of the one or more links withinthe first web page, and wherein the target link is identified andprioritized before a request for content of the second web page is sentfrom the client computing device to a computing device that stores thecontent of the second web page; instructions to, prior to receiving auser selection of the target link or of an indicator associated with thetarget link, prefetch content from the second web page, the contentincluding web page data, applets, or scripts; instructions to load theprefetched content into a safe cache on the client computing deviceaccording to the prefetching order before receiving the user selectionof the target link or of the associated indicator and before the contentof the second web page is opened by an application configured to provideaccess to the content of the second web page on the client computingdevice; and instructions to scan the prefetched content for a securitythreat, within the safe cache, wherein the safe cache is configured toprevent the prefetched content from altering a memory location orstorage location external to the safe cache.
 14. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise:instructions to detect placement of a cursor proximate to the targetlink or the associated indicator; and instructions to, in response tosaid detecting: in response to identifying a security threat with theprefetched content, present a warning along with one or more selectableoptions, including an option to ignore the warning; and in response toidentifying no security threat with the prefetched content or receivingfrom the user a selectable option to ignore the warning, cause displayof a second window comprising the prefetched content.
 15. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructionsfurther comprise: instructions to generate but not display the secondwindow; instructions to populate the second window with the prefetchedcontent; and instructions to cache the second window.
 16. A method ofenhanced browsing with security scanning, the method comprising:identifying, in a first document displayed on a client computing device,a target link to content, wherein the target link is identified by theclient computing device from one or more links that are contained withinthe first document, wherein the one or more links are prioritized by theclient computing device to determine a prefetching order based on anappearance of the one or more links within the first document, andwherein the target link is identified and prioritized before a requestfor the content is sent from the client computing device to a computingdevice that stores the content; prior to receiving a user selection ofthe target link or of an indicator associated with the target link,prefetching the content which, in addition to a URL, includes web pagedata, applets, or scripts; loading the content into a safe cache on theclient computing device according to the prefetching order and beforereceiving a user selection of the target link and before the content isopened by an application configured to provide access to the content onthe client computing device; and while the content is in the safe cache:preventing the content from altering a memory location or storagelocation external to the safe cache; and scanning the content on theclient computing device for a security threat.
 17. The method of claim16, further comprising: detecting placement of a cursor proximate to thetarget link or the associated indicator; and in response to thedetecting: in response to identifying a security threat within thecontent, presenting one or more selectable options to initiate inresponse to the identified security threat; and in response toidentifying no security threat within the content or receiving from theuser a selectable option to ignore an identified security threat,causing display of a second window comprising the content.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, further comprising: before receiving the userselection of the target link or of the associated indicator, displayingan indicator to indicate whether a security threat was detected withinthe content, wherein said displaying an indicator comprises altering anappearance of the indicator associated with the target link.
 19. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the content contains executable code andsaid scanning comprises executing the code within the safe cache todetermine a behavior of the code.
 20. The method of claim 16, whereinthe application is a word processing program.